Scottish Executive

Animal Welfare

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to allocate an animal welfare portfolio to a specific minister.

Mr Jack McConnell: The Minister for Environment and Rural Development has specific responsibility for animal health and welfare.

Bee Keeping

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many officials within its Environment and Rural Affairs Department had responsibility in relation to the bee-keeping profession in the years (a) 2001, (b) 1995 and (c) 1990.

Ross Finnie: The number of officials is as follows:

  


2001 
  

24 
  



1995 
  

22 
  



1990 
  

16

Concordats

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it has given to its staff on the operation of the concordats between it and departments of Her Majesty’s Government and on the operation of the Memorandum of Understanding between Her Majesty's Government, Scottish ministers and the Cabinet of the National Assembly for Wales.

Patricia Ferguson: No specific guidance has been issued to Scottish Executive staff on the operation of the Memorandum of Understanding between the UK Government and the devolved administrations and the concordats between Scottish Executive and UK Government Departments, as these documents themselves constitute guidance to staff.

Consultation Documents

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is its policy to release consultation papers during the winter holiday season.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Executive engages in consultation activity throughout the entire year, and consultation papers are released at times to meet expressed commitments, to suit the consultees and the policy timetable. Consultation periods which include the winter holiday season normally extend their duration by 7-14 days to accommodate this.

Dental Health

Ben Wallace (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many toothbrushes have been provided free to children since January 2001.

Malcolm Chisholm: Sixty-nine thousand, seven hundred and eighty-one toothbrushes have been provided free to children since January 2001. The distribution programme is on-going.

Domestic Abuse

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what research has been carried out into the needs of older women in relation to domestic abuse and other forms of violence.

Mr Jim Wallace: No specific research has been carried out into the needs of older women in relation to domestic abuse and other forms of violence. Results from the Scottish Crime Survey 2000 suggest, however, that older women are less likely to be victims of violence. The National Strategy to Address Domestic Abuse in Scotland contains a recommendation about the provision of refuge, and other services, to meet the needs of women who may not currently have access to such services, including older women and it recognises that older women may have special need in accessing provision.

Drug Misuse

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what methods are available to the police to screen for drugs.

Dr Richard Simpson: Scottish police forces do not routinely screen arrestees for drugs.

  However, in relation to driving offences, drug recognition techniques and field impairment testing were introduced by Scottish forces in June 2001.

Drug Misuse

Ben Wallace (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many reforming drug misusers were prepared for training and employment in 2001.

Dr Richard Simpson: The New Futures Fund managed by Scottish Enterprise supported 1,692 people in 2001 who had identified their drug misuse as a barrier to training and employment. In addition, there is a wide range of programmes and initiatives, such as Employment Services New Deal programme and Training For Work programmes operated by Local Enterprise Companies. These will contribute to meeting our Programme for Government target of assisting 1,000 reforming drug misusers per annum to prepare for training and employment.

Drug Misuse

Ben Wallace (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how support for families of drug misusers has increased since January 2001.

Dr Richard Simpson: The Executive has allocated £4 million in 2001-02, in new resources, to tackle drug misuse by, and affecting, children and young people. One of the primary areas is the provision of services for children and young people in families of drug misusing parents.

  Examples of proposals we have agreed include the expansion of community-based family support services to parents with addiction problems in Glasgow, and support services for babies, children and families with drug using families in Falkirk.

Education

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether its consultation paper of 1 November 2001 on the draft Guidance on the Circumstances in which Parents may Choose to Educate their Children at Home was released at the end of December 2001 and what the reasons are for the position on this matter.

Nicol Stephen: The draft Guidance on the Circumstances in which Parents may Choose to Educate their Children at Home was issued on 20 December 2001, as soon as drafting and printing were complete. The consultation period on the draft guidance runs until 29 March 2002 to ensure that all parties have sufficient time to respond.

Education

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether its consultation paper of 1 November 2001 on the draft Guidance on the Circumstances in which Parents may Choose to Educate their Children at Home was available or referred to on its website at the time of publication; what the reasons are for the position on this matter, and why the paper does not state to whom or by when responses to the paper should be made.

Nicol Stephen: The draft Guidance on the Circumstances in which Parents may Choose to Educate their Children at Home was available on the Scottish Executive website on 27 December 2001. It had been mailed to key interested parties and organisations prior to this, on 20 December 2001, to ensure that those with a direct interest in the guidance received the consultation document first. A covering letter was issued with all hard copies of the draft guidance, stating to whom responses should be made, and by when. The initial version of the document posted on the Scottish Executive website did not state to whom or by when responses should be made. This was rectified on 8 January 2002.

Elderly People

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it is taking to improve access for pensioners to information about older people’s groups.

Hugh Henry: The Executive is keen to improve information about matters which may affect older people or be of interest to them. An older people’s newsletter was launched in October 2001 and a website is planned.

Elderly People

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider setting up a database listing all older people’s groups which could be accessed by pensioners.

Hugh Henry: The Executive has no plans to set up such a database.

Elderly People

Ben Wallace (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it has taken to improve health education for older people since January 2001.

Hugh Henry: The Health Education Board for Scotland (HEBS) is involved in or supporting activities aimed at improving health education for older people and is currently developing a campaign tailor-made to the health education needs of older people. Research commissioned by HEBS on perceptions of health and healthy ageing in later life will be used in the development of this new programme.

  NHS Board Health Promotion Departments are also involved at local level in promoting healthy lifestyles for older people.

  Those aged 65 and over were also one of the main target groups of the Executive’s winter flu immunisation campaign which involved a major national publicity and media campaign.

Environment

Fiona McLeod (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what directions it has issued to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency on prioritising data gathering for the Priority Waste Stream Projects.

Ross Finnie: No formal directions on this matter have been issued to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.

General Practitioners

Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it holds on the numbers of patients removed from GP lists in each year and what reasons other than a patient’s death are given in such cases.

Malcolm Chisholm: The numbers of patients removed from lists by Island NHS Boards or Primary Care Trusts at the request of GPs each year, excluding those removed as a result of death, emigration or change of address, have been collected centrally since 1996. Except where a GP wishes removal to take immediate effect because of violence or the threat of it, GPs are not required by their Terms of Service to describe the cause of removal requests and no information on reasons is available. The numbers removed are as follows:

  

 

1996 
  

1997 
  

1998 
  

1999 
  

2000 
  

2001 
  



Total removals excluding deaths, emigration and change 
  of address 
  

6,295 
  

5,824 
  

6,643 
  

5,845 
  

4,043 
  

3,992 
  



Removals in cases of violence 
  

110 
  

97 
  

125 
  

197 
  

109 
  

96

Health

Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider making respiratory illness a national health priority.

Malcolm Chisholm: Our National Health: A plan for action, a plan for change set out our commitment to giving greater priority to the needs of those with chronic conditions. That commitment will of course apply to the main respiratory illnesses. Malignant respiratory diseases are covered in the Executive’s cancer strategy, Cancer in Scotland: Action for Change , published in July 2001.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to its press release SE1935/2000 on 3 July 2000, what improvements to people’s health the Public Health Institute for Scotland has achieved since January 2001.

Malcolm Chisholm: The remit of the Public Health Institute for Scotland (PHIS) is "to protect and improve the health of the people of Scotland by working with relevant agencies and organisations to increase the understanding of the determinants of ill health, help formulate public health policy and increase the effectiveness of the public health endeavour". Copies of the PHIS Work Programme were sent to all organisations involved in health improvement, both inside and outside the NHS, and to all MSPs and MPs on 4 January 2002 and is available on the PHIS website. Several significant milestones were achieved in 2001.

  Profiles of every parliamentary constituency were published in March 2001, highlighting the range of factors influencing health.

  In conjunction with the Scottish Executive, PHIS supported the development of the new LHCC Public Health Practitioner (PHP) posts, most of whom were in post by the end of 2001.

  PHIS had a significant input into the induction programmes for the new unified NHS boards.

  PHIS led a consultation exercise on the contribution of health promotion to health improvement.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what targets, and timescales for achieving these targets, have been set for the Public Health Institute for Scotland.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and Chief Nursing Officer (CNO), in consultation with a multi-agency group, The Public Health Function Implementation Group (PHFIG) set key aims for the Public Health Institute for Scotland (PHIS) which are:

  to strengthen the public health information base, especially through developing a comprehensive database for public health;

  to assemble the public health evidence base, and

  to support the development of public health skills among different agencies and occupational groups and in communities.

  In response to this, PHIS submitted a work programme which was approved by the CMO, CNO and PHFIG and subsequently published. This sets out the projects which they will undertake over the next two years to help achieve these aims, along with associated timescales.

Health

Ben Wallace (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many Healthy Living Centres have been established since January 2001.

Malcolm Chisholm: I am delighted to say that 24 successful Healthy Living Centres worth £14.5 million have been announced by the New Opportunities Fund and we expect to see a steady stream of further awards until the end of the assessment period in September 2002. I am also pleased to add that this includes an award made yesterday to the Mearns Healthy Living Network in the member’s own constituency area.

Health

Ben Wallace (North-East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the definition is of "inappropriate settings" as used in section 2.6 of Working together for Scotland: A Programme for Government .

Hugh Henry: Those that are not the most suitable for the patient or client’s assessed needs.

Hepatitis

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are (a) known to be suffering from hepatitis C and officially recorded as such and (b) estimated to be suffering from hepatitis C but not officially recorded as such.

Malcolm Chisholm: Figures published by the Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health (SCIEH) confirm that to end June 2000, there were 10,929 laboratory confirmed cases of hepatitis C in Scotland. The Scottish Needs Assessment Programme Report , published in August 2000, estimated that 35,000 people in Scotland are infected with the hepatitis C virus.

  Figures showing confirmed cases of hepatitis C infection to June 2001 are to be published by SCIEH next month.

Hospitals

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to grant franchises for the management of poorly performing hospitals.

Malcolm Chisholm: There are currently no plans to grant franchises for the management of poorly performing NHS hospitals in Scotland.

Hospitals

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to introduce Foundation Hospitals with autonomous decision-making and management similar to those announced by the Secretary of State for Health.

Malcolm Chisholm: There are currently no plans to introduce Foundation Hospitals with autonomous decision-making and management into the NHS in Scotland.

Hospitals

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to introduce and publish a star rating system for NHS hospitals.

Malcolm Chisholm: There are currently no plans to introduce a star rating system for NHS hospitals in Scotland.

Housing

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to encourage local authorities to reduce local authority housing rent arrears.

Ms Margaret Curran: In June 2000 the Accounts Commission and Scottish Homes published a report on Managing Rent Arrears , which recommended actions that should be taken by local authorities and registered social landlords to improve their management of rent arrears. In addition, the Housing (Scotland) Act introduced a single regulatory framework for local authorities and registered social landlords. This means that, in future, Communities Scotland will be assessing councils in relation to a number of performance standards including rent arrears.

Housing

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to encourage local authorities to complete the sale of local authority houses within the national target time of 26 weeks.

Iain Gray: Although ministers expect that council house sales should take no longer than six months to complete, there is no statutory time limit within which sales must be completed.

  Local authorities are encouraged to complete sales within six months through the inclusion of this target in the list of key housing performance indicators collated and published by the Accounts Commission. Their most recent report, published on 17 January 2002, showed that the percentage of houses sold in 26 weeks or less rose from 60.2% in 1999-2000 to 64.6% in 2000-01.

  In addition, the Housing (Scotland) Act introduced a single regulatory framework for local authorities and registered social landlords. This means that, in future, Communities Scotland will be assessing councils in relation to a number of performance standards, including the efficient processing of Right to Buy applications.

  The Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 allows tenants to seek a reduction in the purchase price equal to the amount of rent paid if landlords fail to process applications at particular stages within specified time limits. This is also intended to encourage landlords to process applications without unreasonable delay.

Justice

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans there are to relax the rules on the coaching of witnesses prior to court proceedings.

Mr Jim Wallace: There are no rules preventing witnesses from being prepared for court by explaining to them what will happen and providing visits to court for young or vulnerable witnesses. Preparation of this type is often done. To coach witnesses in the sense of telling them what to say would undermine their credibility and reliability and might well amount to a criminal offence. The Executive has no intention of changing the law in this respect.

Justice

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many drug-assisted sexual assaults took place in the most recent year for which figures are available, broken down by the gender of the assaulted persons.

Mr Jim Wallace: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Justice

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to highlight drug-assisted assaults and the measures that can be taken to prevent them.

Dr Richard Simpson: The Executive awaits the outcome of a strategic assessment on the wider issue of drug-related sexual assault, which is being carried out by a working group led by the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency.

  In addition, the Home Office is currently considering whether Gamma Hydroxy Butyrate, linked to alleged "date rape" cases, should be brought within the controls of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, which would bring about criminal penalties for possession and supply.

Police

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which police force divisions have specialist sexual offence officers and how many such officers each division has.

Mr Jim Wallace: Every Scottish force has specialist officers dedicated to the investigation of sexual offences. The number and allocation of these officers is a matter for individual Chief Constables.

Police

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive in which police force areas women doctors are available at all times to conduct medical examinations following a sexual assault.

Mr Jim Wallace: Local arrangements, varying on a force-to-force basis, exist whereby doctors are contracted to provide medical assistance when required. Victims sometimes express a preference to be examined by either a male or a female doctor. The Scottish Police Service believes such choices should be respected and forces endeavour to meet such requests wherever possible.

Rail Network

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the meeting between the Minister for Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning and the Secretary of State for Transport, whether the Strategic Rail Authority’s strategic plan will be amended to confirm that airport links to Edinburgh Airport and Glasgow Airport will go ahead within five years and what the reasons are for the position on this matter.

Lewis Macdonald: The Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) intends to carry out an annual revision of their strategic plan. This is to take account of changes in the industry, the outcomes of various studies currently under way, the emerging Joint Transport Studies, and the responses of stakeholders. The Scottish Executive, in partnership with Scottish Enterprise, the British Airports Authority and the SRA, is leading a detailed economic and engineering study of the various options available for rail links to Edinburgh Airport and Glasgow Airport. At the appropriate time the conclusion of the study will feed through into the annual revision of the SRA's strategic plan.

  The Executive and the SRA hope that, depending on the outcome of the study, the relevant local authorities will be keen to progress the requirement for parliamentary powers, thus making it possible to move to design and construction from 2005, subject to suitable resources being available at the time.

Rail Network

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it made to the Strategic Rail Authority to seek its agreement for the inclusion of particular rail projects in the authority’s strategic plan; what timescales it sought for the completion of any such rail project, and whether any such projects were included within the published strategic plan.

Lewis Macdonald: The Scottish Executive was in contact with the Strategic Rail Authority on a number of issues during the preparation of the authority's strategic plan, including the inclusion of particular rail projects and the timescales for delivery of those projects.

Rape

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what support is available for male victims of rape.

Mr Jim Wallace: Two projects are funded by the Executive specifically to support survivors of sexual abuse, including male as well as female rape victims. A number of other projects with a broader remit will also provide support to male rape victims. In addition, the Executive commissioned research in this area which is published in the report, The Experience of Violence and Harassment of Gay Men in the City of Edinburgh . Copies are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 5154).

  In terms of the support provided within the criminal justice system, criminal justice agencies have a shared commitment, enshrined in the Scottish Strategy for Victims, to ensure that all victims, regardless of their gender, are able to access support, assistance and information at all stages in the criminal justice process.

Roads

Andrew Wilson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive (a) what surveys other than the Central Scotland Transport Corridor Study (CSTCS) have been undertaken regarding road safety on the A80 at Cumbernauld, (b) how many accidents were reported on this stretch of trunk road in each of the last five years and (c) when it will publish the CSTCS report into the future development and upgrading of this route.

Lewis Macdonald: A study resulting in preparation of the A80/M80 Crowwood to M80 Junction 5 Route Accident Reduction Plan was completed in March 1999.

  Reported accidents over the last five years are as follows:

  


Year 
  

Fatal 
  

Serious 
  

Slight 
  

Total 
  



1996 
  

0 
  

6 
  

33 
  

39 
  



1997 
  

1 
  

5 
  

23 
  

29 
  



1998 
  

0 
  

2 
  

25 
  

27 
  



1999 
  

0 
  

3 
  

28 
  

31 
  



2000 
  

0 
  

4 
  

25 
  

29 
  



  We expect the report on the A80 corridor study around the end of May.

Scottish Exective Publications

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Diabetes Framework will be published and what the reason is for any delay in its publication.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive published the key milestones of the Scottish Diabetes Framework on World Diabetes Day - 14 November 2001 - at the same time as the clinical standards for diabetes, published by the Clinical Standards Board for Scotland, and the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network Guideline on the management of diabetes. Publication of the full framework document is expected in March 2002. Meanwhile, good progress is being made to ensure that the targets set out in the framework will be met.

Sexual Offences

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans there are to establish sexual assault treatment centres.

Dr Richard Simpson: There is a growing recognition of the needs of victims of sexual offences and every Scottish police force therefore has access to a dedicated rape suite. These facilities may be situated in police stations, hospitals or other suitable locations arranged through their local social work departments.

  Work is also being taken forward by the Scottish Prison Service in prisons, and by local authorities, in the community to provide programmes to tackle sex offending behaviour. For example, initiatives such as the Fife Council community protection team Change Programme and the Tay Project are aimed at addressing the offending behaviour of adult sex offenders as part of criminal justice social work’s statutory supervision of sex offenders.

Social Justice

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what programmes it has initiated that promote the inclusion of people with both learning difficulties and physical disabilities in the community.

Hugh Henry: Promoting inclusion of people with learning difficulties or physical disabilities is an important part of our social justice agenda.

  Policies across the whole range of Scottish Executive responsibilities are designed to tackle exclusion, by improving opportunities for education, lifelong learning and employment, and assisting people with a disability to live independently.

Transport

Cathie Craigie (Cumbernauld and Kilsyth) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects the Central Scotland Transport Corridor Studies to be completed.

Lewis Macdonald: We expect the report on the A80, A8 and M74 studies around the end of May.

Weeds Act 1959

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it can ensure that local authorities enforce the Weeds Act 1959 with regard to ragwort.

Ross Finnie: The Weeds Act 1959 does not confer any powers on local authorities to act in relation to ragwort. The Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department investigates all written complaints received about the presence of ragwort on land.

  The act places responsibility for control of certain weeds, including ragwort, on the occupier of the land and in the first instance, where livestock may be at risk, the Executive will advise the occupier to carry out control measures. Where necessary and as a last resort, powers are available under the act to give occupiers of land formal written notice requiring them to take action.

Youth Crime

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many referrals were made alleging that a child aged between eight and 12 had committed a criminal offence in Edinburgh to (a) the Reporter to the Children’s Panel and (b) the Procurator Fiscal; how many of these referrals were subsequently prosecuted (i) at court and (ii) at a Children’s Panel Hearing, and what sentence was imposed in each case, all in each year since 1997.

Cathy Jamieson: Between 1997 and 2000 two children aged between eight and 12 were proceeded against in Edinburgh courts. In one case a plea of not guilty was accepted and in the other the child was detained.

  Operational statistics for children’s hearings are a matter for the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration. This information is not held centrally. National statistics are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 18780).

  Referrals to the children’s hearings system are not prosecutions, but hearings to determine whether compulsory measures of supervision are required in the best interests of the child, whether or not they have offended. A children’s hearing does not impose a sentence on the child before it. It can either discharge the case, remit it to the sheriff court for proof, or make a supervision requirement in respect of the child, attaching such conditions as the hearing deems appropriate.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Parliamentary Visits

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer how many high-profile (a) visits and (b) visitors to the Parliament are anticipated for the period from January to April 2002; by how much this figure differs from the (i) anticipated and (ii) actual figures for the same period in (1) 2000 and (2) 2001, and what implications have been identified for police resources in respect of such forthcoming visits.

Sir David Steel: The Parliament’s External Liaison Unit is currently aware of 21 high-profile visits to the Parliament in the period from 1 January to 30 April 2002. It is anticipated that a further 20 or so high profile visits can be expected during the period.

  (The term high-profile is used to cover all visits organised by the unit and includes visiting parliamentarians, heads of state, representatives of governments including ministers, ambassadors and high-level officials and senior representatives of international or other organisations. Details of forthcoming visits are available on the External Liaison Unit site on SPEIR. Information is kept on the basis of numbers of visits rather than visitors. The figures given, therefore, include both individual high-profile visitors and group visits to the Parliament.)

  The number of actual similar visits to the Parliament in the same period in 2000 was 20, in line with anticipated volume. In 2001 the figure was 57. This demand was greater than the unit had anticipated and measures have been taken to allow the Parliament to manage better the flow and timetabling through the year of visits of this type. It is anticipated, therefore, that while the number of visits between 1 January and 30 April 2002 will be greater than in the same period in 2000, there will be somewhat fewer than in early 2001.

  The policing requirements of the majority of visits to the Parliament are handled by the Parliament's dedicated Police Unit as part of normal duties. Only a small number of visits, depending on the status of the visitor, require a wider input from Lothian and Borders Police or Specialist Departments. There is close liaison between the parliamentary staff handling visits and the police to ensure that any implications for police resources can be taken into account as far in advance as possible. The police services, however, are aware of the need to police the many important visitors to Edinburgh each year and build that commitment into normal budget planning.